1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to information processors and information processing systems including information processors, and particularly to information processing systems having interconnected an image processor and an information processor displaying information on notification transmitted from the image processor indicating for example that a job is completed, information processors configuring such information processing system, and methods of processing information in such image processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, multifunction peripherals (MFPs), printers and other similar, image processors having faster processing rates and abundant functions are distributed in large quantities. Such image processors are relatively expensive. Furthermore, install it requires a relatively large space. Accordingly, it is difficult to a lot such image processor for each person. Typically, a plurality of people is allotted one image processor.
If a plurality of users shares a single image processor and a user sends an instruction from a client personal computer (client PC) that is located relatively remote from the image processor to the image processor to execute a job, it is difficult for the user to determine on the spot whether the job that the user has issued the instruction to execute has been completed.
In view of this, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-285329 discloses that in a network including an image processor and a PC, if at the image processor a job is normally completed or abnormally completed, a result thereof is reported to a previously registered user.
Furthermore Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-109605 discloses that in a network system including a printer and a PC, if a single user currently causes the printer to execute a plurality of print jobs, then when all of the print jobs of the user are completely output, notification is transmitted to notify the user that the print jobs have completely been output.
Furthermore Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-091736 discloses that in a network system including a printer and a PC, whenever each print job is completely output, the user having transmitted the print job is notified, in a manner that varies depending on whether there is any other print job of the user, that the print job has been completed.
As disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 10-285329 and 2002-091736, whenever a job is completed, a user is notified that the job is completed. This requires the user for example to visually confirm the notification whenever it is received, which can feel cumbersome.
As disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-109605, in contrast, unless for each user all print jobs are completed, notification that the print jobs are completed is not issued. If the user desires to confirm whether a job that the user has earlier issued an instruction to execute is completed, the user must wait for some period of time before he/she receives notification that the job is completed, which can feel inconvenient.
Furthermore some MFPs increasingly distributed in recent years that are equipped with a plurality of functions such as copying, faxing, printing, scanning and the like notify in manners different for different functions that a job is completed. Furthermore, if identical functions of different manufacturers, models and the like are effected to complete a job, notification that the job is completed can be issued in different manners. This requires the user to handle a plurality of operations, items of application software and the like corresponding to the different, individual manners of notification, which is cumbersome.